Erdogan: Bolton's Comments on Kurdish Fighters 'Serious Mistake'

Turkey cannot accept recent comments from U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser that Ankara must agree to protect Washington's Kurdish allies in Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

Erdogan, speaking to members of his AK Party in parliament, said John Bolton had made "serious mistake" in calling for a new condition for the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, and that Turkey could never compromise on the issue of the YPG Kurdish militia.

Turkey sees the YPG, which the United States has backed in the fight against Islamic State in Syria, as a terrorist organization and part of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Turkey cannot accept recent comments from U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser that Ankara must agree to protect Washington's Kurdish allies in Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.